The subject application relates to paper reuse and waste reduction systems and methods. While the systems and methods described herein relate to paper reuse and recycling and the like, it will be appreciated that the described techniques may find application in other waste reduction systems, other paper reuse applications, and/or paper waste reduction methods.
Offices and individuals print millions of pages of documents daily, and often only on a single side of a page (e.g., simplex printing). Users often forget to select double-sided (duplex) printing as an option when they print documents, resulting in twice as many pages being printed as are necessary. Moreover, many printers automatically print a cover page for every document printed, and even for every instance of a single document for which multiple copies are printed. Additionally, blank paper sheets are sometimes included in a printed document (e.g., when blank sheets get stuck together, when a user inadvertently inserts a page break in a document, etc.). These factors contribute to waste and add cost for companies and individuals alike. Further waste occurs during recycling of simplex-printed pages, since the same amount of resources are expended to recycle a simplex printed page as are expended to recycle a duplex printed page.
Some attempts to reuse simplex-printed media have included detecting print on used pages, and sorting pages according to whether they are printed on both sides (duplex printed) or only on one side (simplex printed). Duplex printed pages are rejected, while simplex printed pages are printed on (e.g., on the clean side). However, such approaches do not provide any security for the subject matter printed on the printed side of the simplex printed pages, let alone for potentially sensitive subject matter printed on the duplex printed pages, which are simply sorted out from the simplex printed pages. Such approaches also fail to address the problem of waste generated when clean (unprinted on either side) pages are output with a document or are included in used printed media to be sorted for reuse. Moreover, classical techniques only permit subsequent printing on the clean side of the sorted simplex pages, and are inflexible with regard to other applications of the reusable pages because the reusable pages are routed directly through the printer for printing.
Accordingly, there is an unmet need for systems and/or methods that facilitate detecting and sorting pages with one or two clean or unprinted sides for reuse, and sanitizing potentially confidential information on a printed side of such pages to that the clean side of the pages may be reused, and the like, while overcoming the aforementioned deficiencies.